Home of Slightly Cracked Dreams

I just purchased my prudy pink diary for the financial year.

Why a financial year diary? Basically for tax reasons. My diary is not just a tool I use to keep track of appointments, it also helps me keep track of expenses for tax purposes. An appointment with the accountant and invoice are noted on the appropriate day. Hours worked. Weekly pay (if it varies). Bonuses. Car travel. When it comes to tax time all the information I need is in my diary, which also doubles as evidence if necessary for the tax office for many expenses. So how do you get the most out of a diary? Follow these steps to make effective use of your diary:

1. Find a diary that is suitable. Don’t buy a week to a page if your work/day runs in 15 minute increments and appointments. Similarly, if you’re appointments are one or two a day, don’t get a day to a page lump – you won’t use it. Mine is a week to a page, because I rarely have a day that needs something more these days. I just need a quick note like: “M&M Doctors 3:10pm” or “Pay rego bill”, rather than keeping track of appointments.
2. Create opportunities to USE it. Carry it in your bag/briefcase/car. The key to using a diary if you haven’t until now is to make it easy to use. An analogy I use is water – when people want to drink water they have a bottle next to their computer. You need to create the opportunities to make you do something you’re not used to.
3. Use colours to make it pretty. Highlighting different activities (work, kids, home etc) with different colours not only makes it pretty, it’s a useful tool for seeing at a glance who/what is going on in advance. This is an example of a week from my diary last October. Green was for the kids, pink for Tupperware and blue was for house/family stuff.
   
4. Set time aside time to update it. Once a week, once a day, whatever time you need to make sure everything is in your diary and it’s up to date. It can be after dinner when going through the kids bags and pulling out school notes. Or first thing in the morning when you check your emails. Whatever works for you. I find twice a week works well for me. I consult with the calendar, empty the kids bags, check my email and make sure everything is in there. I often follow this with a pile of phone calls to make appointments or information, and jot that down too. That way all the appointments are straight in my diary and I don’t need to remember to do it later. Set your phone to remind you if necessary.
5. Check it EVERY DAY. There’s no point going to lots of trouble to make sure all your appointments are in there if you don’t check it each day to remind yourself what your commitments are. Better yet, check it the night before. Again, if necessary, set a reminder on your phone

There’s a little over 24 hours left in my logo design competition. So get cracking! What are you waiting for?

I seriously need help in this department. And 12 months free advertising of your website is not to be sneezed at.

Get those creative juices flowing and help me out win yourself some free advertising! Please!

Last weekend while visiting a friend and her family for lunch Her grandfather is ill, and there was a phone call. One where you don’t think, just go. Fortunately her grandfather was not seriously injured and returned home later that afternoon. And as I watched my friend and her family organise themselves to follow him to the hospital, it occurred to me that I’m not nearly as organised as I’d like to be. 

I’m prepared for flood, cyclone and emergency evacuation. Living in the tropics it’s kind of a necessity. Insurance papers, spare cash/credit cards, birth and marriage certificates, passports, bank account details all in one handy, easy to carry waterproof container. But a trip to the hospital? Nope. I know the basics. Mobile phone, coins for the vending machines, phone book (thankfully these days the mobile phone doubles for that), Medicare card (already in my purse). But this is where I realised I’m missing something. Medical histories. Prescriptions. Dosages. Allergies. Hubby is asthmatic, so this kind of information could be life and death if it came to it. And what if it’s me that has to go? I know where everything is. The Hubby doesn’t.

So I’m on a mission. An emergency grab bag for “medical emergencies”. And really, with kids, isn’t it inevitable? We have already made a couple of dashes to hospital and doctors for M&M.

I’m thinking maybe a sandwich zip lock bag that can stored close to the evacuation container, and that can also be grabbed in the case of evacuation.

And here’s what’s going in:

$20 in gold coins for vending machines (our local hospital doesn’t have a café, but the nurses are lovely and will make you tea and coffee)
Private Health Cover details
Medical histories for everyone
Medication & prescription details for everyone (Hubby and Kiki are both on constant medication)
Allergies lists for everyone
Some long life/high energy snacks (kid friendly ones)

Have I missed anything?

But in a good way.

I’ve been swimming for 6 weeks now. This will in fact be the first week I’ve managed 3 full sessions in the week. I started swimming with the intention of getting fit, and hoping the weight would go of its own accord. You know, without me doing anything like dieting, actual exercise I dislike (I love swimming), and basically, any more effort than getting in the pool.
I hadn’t weighed myself for a few weeks, and was disappointed to find last week I hadn’t lost anything since starting. I hadn’t noticed anything else changing either (silly me didn’t take measurements when I first started - I was too scared). I kept going because I knew I was getting fitter, and that’s the whole point. I’m not much “overweight”. According to various BMI indicators or whatever, something like 3-5kg I could lose and be “healthy”. But everything seems to be coming together.

One of the training drills we do is swimming 50m easily, then swimming back as fast as we can. Our coach times us and we try and beat our previous time. Or at least try not to go any slower. We do this 3-5 times in a row, depending on what else we’ve done. Bear in mind with these times I’m wearing fins, so I basically go twice as fast as I normally would.

Last Friday when we did this, I tried to focus on kicking when I normally would have slowed down (around the 35-40m point). My times were, in order: 51 seconds, 45 seconds, 41 seconds. Wow - 10 seconds off in a session. I was pretty chuffed with myself (especially considering previous times had been around the 50-55 second mark).

Today we did the same thing again, but also counted our strokes and tried to bring those down as well. I didn’t reduce my strokes (43 for a 50m lap for those playing at home), but my times improved again. From 43 seconds, to 38.5, to 37.5.

In the space of one week I’ve gone from being able to swim 50 metres in 51 seconds, to doing it in 37.5 seconds.

And that’s not all.

I weighed myself yesterday. I’ve lost 2kg.  Clothes I bought in early March, that were in need of adjusting to do up, fit, and are even, just slightly, loose (until I eat a big meal). All my pants are looser around the thighs. People have noticed I’ve lost weight, I look healthier and I feel it. I can pick M&M up again (heffalump she is at 21kg). I get through the housework quicker. Hanging up the washing doesn’t hurt my arms. Little things like that.

And to be honest, little things are far more motivating than loosing weight to keep me focused on going to the pool. I have structured my week around it, I buy a 10-pass to give me more incentive, and the social aspect is not to be overlooked with talk of a Christmas in July party for the “swimfit” gang (used to be girls, but we have two guys now, have to be PC and all that).

Stay tuned for more of my fitness endeavours, and let me know if you need some motivation so I can kick your butt into gear give it to you

Kez posed an interesting question last week: What price is your limit for petrol? Which raised a few questions in this household in turn.

Since we’ve welcomed Miss Moo to the clan, things are getting a little tight in the back seat of the old CR-V. With Mr Costello’s bribe incentive thank-you money for naturally increasing the tax-paying population of the future, we purchased the three smallest (ie narrowest) car seats on the market. And there’s still not enough room. I physically have to climb into the car to buckle Kiki in. Which can be dangerous in my fabulous green shoes and a skirt.

As such, added the fact our car is not far off 10 years old, has past 200,000km, and is starting to have things go wrong with it we’ve been contemplating upgrading to a car that doesn’t remind me to update our will everytime it rains and I’m wearing heels.

And this is where Kez’s question comes in. Because the cost of fuel is becoming an issue in our choice of vehicle. Do we convert to gas straight away? Do we go for a diesel engine? What’s the smallest/most fuel efficient car we can get that will comfortably fit all 5 of us?

The answer to the last question stunned me. A Camry/Falcon/Commadore size car is the smallest that will fit us all. People movers or cars/SUV’s/4wd’s that seat more than 5 people are the most uneconomical cars to run. Hybrids are small and for people who don’t have friends have to cart sports/school/swimming bags, 3 car seats, prams and other assorted child friendly equipment everywhere.

Is it that far fetched that a family would want try and be as gentle on the environment as possible?

But this forced me to look at our car usage. What could I cut back? How much do I travel? I was surprised to discover I travel about the same distance as a more urban dwelling person, despite living in the middle of nowhere the country. Buying a diesel would break us even cost wise after about 3.5 years. Since I plan on keeping any car we buy now for a rather long time, that would be ok - but then I see the cost of diesel has risen twice as much as the cost of petrol in the last 12 months, and I wonder when that would stop? Would it be a better option to buy a petrol engine and use the estimated $3k saved over a diesel to convert it to gas? Would it effectively halve the fuel bill?

Kez’s question asked far more than it answered, because unfortunately, for those of us that don’t live in a city, petrol is a necessity that we have to pay any price for. And the question isn’t, at what price would we stop buying petrol, but at what price is it most cost-effective for us to do anything about it.

With the final sprint to uni exams coming up over the next few weeks, menu planning is going from “creative and using new recipes” to “old favourites and simplicity”. While they don’t have to be mutually exclusive, I just don’t have the time to spend hours pouring through recipe books, magazines and websites looking for new and exciting things to cook.

So, after a brief poke in the freezer, and a quick hunt in the cupboard, here’s what’s on the menu this week:

Monday - Asian Chicken Drumsticks, rice and broccoli

Tuesday - Cottage Pie

Wednesday - Haystacks

Thursday - Lamb chops, pasta and green beans

Friday - Homemade pizza

Saturday - Corned Beef in the slow cooker

Sunday - Toasted sandwiches

Before I rush back to my study, I wanted to talk a little about my Asian Chicken Drumsticks recipe. It’s very simple, and the marinade can be used in heaps of different ways.

Asian Chicken Sauce

2 tbsp barbecue sauce
juice of 1 lemon (I use approx 2 tbsp lemon juice)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
2 shallots - sliced
1 tsp grated ginger (or jar/tube)
1 clove crushed garlic (approx 1 tsp of a jar/tube)

Mix ingredients and use as a marinade.
The best part about this recipe is that it is so versatile. I can make up a huge batch and add to diced chciken or pieces before I freeze them, which makes them doubly delishious when cooked. If I use it on diced chicken, I can then use those pieces in a stir fry, as a casserole (with another batch of sauce in the oven) on skewers for a barbecue. The pieces can go in the oven or on the barbecue and all the preparation is done. The kids love the drumsticks in their lunchbox’s as well, so I always make sure to do a few extra .

Head on over and visit Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for more menu plans

This is the last poast updating how I’m going with achieving my Goals for 2008

Here are the links for the first six posts

Part one
Part two
Part three
Part four
Part five
Part six

The last part of my goals related to my blogging:

Blog

1. Build the readership of Home of Slightly Cracked Dreams to a level of 100 subscribers
2. Investigate a niche idea for a new blog
3. Start a new blog in the niche

Hmm, part one isn’t going so well actually. I’ve barely increased from the beginning of the year at all. I am looking at a few ways of increasing this and if you have any ideas - I’m all ears . Part two is complete - I’ve found a bit of information about the niche I’m looking at, and am confident it will be a success (nothing like self-confidence to set oneself up for failure)

Part three will be happening very soon. And if you haven’t yet, check out my logo design competition and possibly win 12 months free advertising for your site if yours is the winning logo chosen.

In a few short weeks I will be launching a new blog. And to celebrate I’m running a competition for those design savy readers who would like to take part.

My new blog Kin’s Money will be a blog about all things financial. And I’m completely stumped at coming up with a logo.

So, your task, should you choose to accept it, is to come up with a logo. A square logo as well as a banner. Whatever colours you choose, and whatever graphics you choose (but if they’re not yours, make sure you get permission).

As with any competition there are prizes. So what do you get if I choose your logo to grace my new blog? Apart from my undying gratitude, you’ll recieve:

1 years free advertising in a 125×125 space.

AND a hat with the winning Kin’s Money logo on it.

Plus of course a credit link on the site for as long as your logo is in use.

So get those creative juices flowing, enter as many times as you want, and email your entries to contact at kinsmoney dot com. Entries close next Saturday 31st May at 5pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (GMT +10). The judges decision is final (ie mine) and no correspondence will be entered into.

When I was in Sydney I popped into the Australian Geographic shop at Macquarie Centre to try to find something for Hubby. I figured it was a pretty safe bet, for just about any bloke, and everytime I go away he complains when I don’t buy him anything. But that isn’t what this story is about.

So, I was in the Australian Geographic shop with Gemisht and heard the familiar songs of John Williamson. For those non-Australians, or those who call themselves Australians but don’t know who John Williamsn is, he is what some might call a country singer, but what I prefer to call a patriotic singer. He sings songs about our country, the land, our sporting heros, diggers and our people. Basically he has his priorities right.

On a whim I bought the album that was playing for myself. I’ve always been selfish like that.

You see, John Williamson reminds me of my childhood, because, well, basically, that was my childood. Camping at Kakadu, campfires, billabongs, watching cricket, sitting up late watching the rugby. I’ve been to any number of performances of his in Alice Springs, Katherine, Darwin and everywhere in between. Before I started school I spent a good part of the year camping by a river, fishing for barramundi for dinner, helping Dad set prawn traps. Sitting up at night playing Uno with the other campers, many of whom are still family friends today.

I listened to the album the other day, and his songs never fail to provoke thought about what it means to be an Australian. Multi-cultrual Australia, Outback Australia, Country Australia.

To those who meet me now, I’m sure I appear the picture of middle class luxury, private boarding school, 3 kids, living in a desirable part of the world. The very essence of spoiled.

I was spoiled. But not by my education, my family or our success. I was spoiled by my childhood. Kakadu was my playground. Crocodiles are not so scary (if you leave them alone). Billabongs were my pools. I camped in tents, caravans and the back of utes. And no matter how used to five star luxury I’d like to get, there is nothing that beats a campfire under the stars. Fresh fish cooking over an open flame. The laughter of kids playing in the bush. Exploring. Discovering.

Dreaming.

Wondering if I could give my kids that same life.

Wishing that I could.

Here we are, nearly at the end of reviewing how I’m going with my Goals for 2008

If you’ve missed the first five parts, here are the links

Part one
Part two
Part three
Part four
Part five

Today I’m checking up on my house goals for 2008

House

1. Find an appropriate rental in The Big Smoke and settle for the rest of the year
2. Setup and maintain new routines around the newest family member
3. Start sorting through the 8!!! boxes of photos I’ve inherited and preserve them appropriately.

Once again the benchmark has changed. We found an appropriate rental here, and haven’t moved. I plan on staying put for at least 12 months, preferably longer. I’ve finally set up my new routines around Miss Moo, and that seems to be working out pretty well.

As for number 3, well. I’ve only just got to the point of packing our boxes away appropriately in the garage so I can fit more crap stuff in from the in-laws. Maybe when I have a break from uni I’ll make a start on a box and see how it goes. There’s plenty of time yet - the year isn’t even half over yet .

Join me on Sunday for the final part of my goals checkup - my blog.